January 11th, Sunday.
It had been a few days since Aiden returned to Paldea.
Early in the morning, after finishing his morning routine, he sat on the sofa in the living room and turned on the TV.
Today was a special day—
Naranja Academy's opening ceremony.
Though winter hadn't yet ended, winters in Paldea weren't particularly cold. Therefore, the academy scheduled its annual new student enrollment period for these days right after the New Year.
"Apparently, no matter which world you're in, the start of school always comes with this kind of program, huh?"
As he watched Principal Harrington delivering the welcome speech on-screen, Aiden couldn't help but mutter softly under his breath.
Technically speaking, he was considered part of Naranja Academy's teaching staff and had every right to attend the opening ceremony.
But he decisively declined.
Why bother attending such a boring event where you have to stand around listening to speeches and pass the time chatting with people next to you? (Annoyed)
He'd much rather sit comfortably on the couch at home and watch the live broadcast on TV to see if he could spot any familiar students.
As the cameras panned over the crowd of students, Aiden quickly noticed a few familiar faces.
Nemona didn't need to be mentioned—she was one of the promising talents from their Sunshine Gym, and the Victory Road would undoubtedly be a breeze for her this year.
However—
"Of course, the most interesting battles should be saved for last, right, Teacher Azure?"
Recalling Nemona's smile when she visited him a couple of days ago, Aiden couldn't help but let a faint smirk cross his face.
For someone like Nemona, whose mind was entirely consumed by Pokémon battles, the appeal of the Victory Road must be immense, right?
Not only could she continuously challenge various Gym Leaders, but she could also freely engage in battles with skilled trainers she encountered along the way.
Wait…
Given Nemona's insatiable desire for battle and her easily recognizable tactical style, it wouldn't take long for her to become one of the "standout figures" at Naranja Academy, right?
Aiden shook his head and shifted his gaze to other students on the screen.
The seasoned challengers who had faced the Sunshine Gym multiple times were all familiar to him. They stood together in the second-year section alongside classmate Okamoto.
These second-year students undoubtedly had only one goal this year:
To win the championship!
Therefore, Aiden planned to set slightly higher standards for them compared to the first-years.
Besides these familiar faces, his attention soon turned to several students who appeared to be future members of Team Star.
However, Aiden had no clear memory of Team Star.
Their leaders dressed so bizarrely that it was impossible to tell what they looked like under normal circumstances...
On the other hand, Penny, the true leader of Team Star, was relatively easy to recognize.
Being shorter than most students, she naturally stood in the front row, catching Aiden's eye immediately.
In the game, this exchange student from Galar was just an ordinary student who enrolled alongside the protagonist.
In reality, however, she had taken responsibility for the Team Star incident to protect the other members and subsequently went back to study in Galar.
After a year and a half abroad, she still remained in her first year...
Aiden didn't have any particularly strong memories of Penny—they were practically strangers—so he didn't pay her much mind.
After scanning the crowd, Aiden soon realized:
Poppy, who had challenged the Sunshine Gym once before, wasn't visible on the screen.
But thinking about it, it made sense. The minimum age for admission to Naranja Academy was ten, and Poppy, Paldea's future nine-year-old Elite Four member, clearly didn't meet the requirements.
Becoming an Elite Four member before enrolling in Naranja Academy sounded absurd anyway.
As for the teachers standing beside Principal Harrington, Aiden barely recognized any of them.
Evidently, the protagonist's excellent instructors in the game were carefully selected only after the "Operation Starfall."
With Paldea's current lack of educational resources, they had no choice but to keep relying on these teachers for now.
"And so, Paldea's nearly thousand-year-old 'Victory Road' trial officially begins today!"
While Aiden was observing the teachers and students, Principal Harrington had finished his speech and officially announced the start of the Victory Road.
Every region had its own version of the Victory Road, though each made localized adjustments.
In more hardcore regions, the road might involve complex mountain trails or caves, accessible only to trainers who had earned Eight Gym Badges.
If they successfully completed the Victory Road, they would officially enter the Regional League domain and face the final challenge.
A solo battle against the Elite Four and the Champion.
Only by winning this grueling gauntlet match could a trainer officially become the league's new Champion.
Of course, as one could imagine, the rules were incredibly difficult—
Expecting a rookie, likely only a year into their journey, to face the Elite Four and Champion without supplies was already an immense challenge.
Not to mention enduring five high-pressure battles in a row.
Trainers capable of achieving this could already be described as monsters.
Therefore, most leagues also operated an alternative "Regional Tournament" selection system, where the strongest among those who obtained eight badges would be crowned Tournament Champion.
Though not an official Champion, it was still a symbol of honor.
As for Paldea, given the immense pressure of Chairman Geeta's position, no one seemed eager to take it over...
Thus, Paldea's Victory Road adopted a new set of rules.
It followed the standard eight-gym, Elite Four, and Champion challenge format, but the defenders wouldn't use their full strength against challengers.
As a result, roughly every few years, Paldea would select an honorary champion. Challengers faced watered-down versions of the Elite Four and Chief Champion Geeta.
Rumor had it that a few years ago, there was a cocky champion who directly challenged Geeta at the annual meeting the following year, only to be utterly crushed by Geeta going all out...
This demonstrated the vast gap between an ordinary champion and Geeta.
"Come to think of it, one of the Elite Four positions is still vacant. How will the Victory Road handle evaluations then?"
Watching the scene on TV, this question suddenly popped into Aiden's mind.
"Oh well, I'll find out when the time comes."
Stretching lazily after sitting up from the couch, Aiden contemplated.
Starting today, as one of the gyms closest to Naranja Academy, he'd likely be busy for a while, right?
With Nemona, the gym apprentice, gone, it seemed Aiden wouldn't even have the chance to slack off anymore.
Aiden immediately made a decision:
If the opportunity arose, he absolutely had to lure another promising apprentice to the gym!
However...
Given the current reputation of his gym, the difficulty of doing so would probably be immense, wouldn't it?
Thinking about this, Aiden's lips twitched involuntarily, and he instinctively opened his phone, entering the league's official website.
Among the eight gyms displayed, the ones with the highest approval ratings were the Alfornada Gym, run by Big Sister Tulip, and Levincia Gym, hosted by streaming prodigy Iono.
Unsurprisingly, humans were fundamentally drawn to appearances, regardless of the world. This ranking alone proved it.
Meanwhile, despite having five times the fanbase of Iono and being undeniably the most popular figure in Paldea, Aiden's Sunshine Gym unsurprisingly ranked dead last.
Though he had grown accustomed to it, Aiden still found it ridiculous.
He needed to figure out a way to reverse the negative reviews!
...
"Vee~"
In the afternoon, Sylveon lay sprawled on the sofa, taking a nap, occasionally mumbling something in its sleep.
Meanwhile, Aiden sat on the other side, quietly tinkering with his Rotom Phone.
Inspired by his previous Master Tournament livestreams, an idea struck him.
What if he could livestream the challenges at the Sunshine Gym directly to his audience? Would that improve his reputation?
Most of the time, it wasn't that he intentionally blocked people—it was simply that they didn't meet his standards...
So Aiden's plan was simple—
Since his words alone lacked persuasiveness, why not let the audience act as a "public jury" to judge the gym's evaluation process?
This approach had many benefits:
First, viewers often complained about his limited streaming hours. By doing this, his stream time would naturally increase this year, and viewers could learn more practical battle techniques.
Second, even if challengers failed the evaluation, he could provide reasonable explanations and advice, which would still benefit others.
Finally—and most importantly—
Though he wouldn't necessarily heed the audience's opinions and would still rely on his subjective judgment, having evidence and public opinion on his side would surely prevent further negative reviews!
Not only would this expand the influence of the Sunshine Gym and himself, but it would also gradually improve the gym's reputation, indirectly attracting more talented challengers.
Killing multiple birds with one stone!
Aiden couldn't help but pat himself on the back for his brilliance.
After switching his Rotom Phone to livestream mode, he quickly changed the stream title to—
"Starting from Zero as a Rookie Gym Leader, Come Challenge Me!"
The moment the stream went live, a flood of viewers poured in, quickly creating a storm of question marks in the chat.
[??! Did the sun rise from the west? Teacher Azure actually streamed in the afternoon!]
[Looks like it's not a gaming stream today—he's streaming as a gym leader, just like Miss Iono...]
[Yay! Teacher Azure's offline Master Tournament stream last time had great results. It's about time we overseas fans got to see how tough the Sunshine Gym really is!]
[Hmm... I heard the Sunshine Gym snagged last place in Paldea's approval rankings. Let's see why.]
"..."
Talk about rubbing salt in the wound.
Aiden's lips twitched as he prepared to deliver his opening remarks.
However, just then—
The door to the Sunshine Gym was suddenly knocked on, followed by a somewhat high-pitched, muffled voice—
"I-Is anyone here?"
"I'm here to challenge the gym…"
The moment he heard the voice, Aiden's lips curled into a faint smile.
It seemed the first challenger (victim) of the day had arrived!
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